The Innocents Get Justice from the Court
Published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer
December 28, 2000
TODAY is Holy Innocents’ Day. As we ponder on the slaughter of children some 2,000 years ago, we think of those young ones who are battered daily in these contemporary times. We think of those who risk their lives defending them.
After going through an elaborate, labyrinthine sexual-abuse case sprung back at him by those he had brought to court also for child abuse, Irish priest Shay Cullen, 57, has gotten justice at last.
‘‘There are people of good conscience in there,’’ the priest of the Columban Order said, referring to people in the Office of the President who issued a Dec. 7 decision dropping the one-and-a-half-year-old case against him. The decision, signed by Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora, overturned the previous Department of Justice resolution finding probable cause against Cullen.
‘‘My 92-year-old mother whose mind is very alert would be very happy,’’ Cullen said as he rushed to the Bureau of Immigration for the papers he needed to leave for his native Ireland this Christmas. Cullen has been assigned to the Philippines for about 30 years and runs the People’s Rehabilitation Empowerment, Development and Assistance Foundation (Preda), a center for abused kids and drug addicts in Olongapo City and nearby places, which has received a Nobel Prize nomination. The priest is known for his crusade against pedophiles. He used to write a Sunday column for the INQUIRER.
US serviceman Alan Dale Edmonds charged Cullen with child abuse after the priest charged Edmond’s adopted son and his house boy for abusing Edmond’s 7-year-old daughter. Cullen said ‘‘a pedophile support group’’ in Olongapo wanted to destroy his credibility and stop him from pursuing legal action on behalf of sexual-abuse victims.
Cullen said the case against him arose after he investigated the child’s case, which was brought to his attention in January 1998 by the National Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Social Welfare and Development. The girl accused her half-brother and a houseboy of abusing her.
Later, however, the child, assisted by her father Edmonds, wrote an affidavit saying she had dreamed of being raped and killed by Cullen.
Edmonds, through a habeas corpus case, tried to recover custody of his daughter who had been entrusted to Preda. The court later ordered that the child be transferred to the DSWD-Lingap Center in Olongapo City where she underwent psychological evaluation. There she disclosed that she had been sexually molested by her own brother Oliver Edmonds and Ronald Payumo. Edmonds, however, refused to file a complaint against Oliver and Payumo.
But the decision read: ‘‘Notwithstanding the said refusal, the NBI forwarded (the victim’s) sworn statement to the Zambales Provincial Prosecutor and the Special Prosecutor for Child Abuse in Olongapo City and Zambales. Payumo was subsequently charged with 10 counts of rape, while Oliver Edmonds was charged two counts.’’
On May 22, 1998, the victim was returned to her father. Because of her failure to appear during the preliminary investigation, the case against her brother and Payumo were dismissed.
After this, it was Cullen’s turn to face charges. With the help of her father, the girl wrote a complaint accusing Cullen of rape while she was in Preda. The Office of the Provincial Prosecutor dismissed the complaint on April 8, 1999, saying that her claim of rape was brought about by her dreams.
Edmonds then filed a petition for review with the secretary of justice, who reversed the dismissal order, arguing that while the first medical examination showed the victim’s hymen was intact, the second one, made after her stay at Preda, showed lacerations. Medical examination on March 4, 1998 at the James Gordon Memorial Hospital showed her hymen was ‘‘lacerated with healed sharp edges.’’
Last October, Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, wrote Justice Secretary Artemio Tuquero saying, ‘‘I know (Cullen) will be proven innocent in time. I plead with you not to allow this harassment to continue.’’ His plea did not bear fruit.
But in its Dec. 7 decision clearing Cullen, the Office of the President said, ‘‘assuming arguendo that (Cullen) raped the victim on Jan. 29, 1998, why did she accuse (him) of rape only on Oct. 27, 1998, that is, more than nine months after its alleged commission? There is no claim that violence, threats or intimidation was exerted on her by (Cullen) to silence her. In fact, during her entire stay at Preda from Jan. 29, 1998 up to Feb. 25, 1998, her father frequently visited her but she told him nothing about the alleged rape.
On the other hand, when she was transferred to the DSWD-Lingap Center upon order of the court on Feb. 26, 1998, she also failed to disclose to the authorities that (Cullen) raped her. In fact, when she was thereafter interviewed and psychologically evaluated by the DSWD personnel, she reaffirmed to them her previous revelation that Ronald Payumo and her own brother Oliver had been sexually molesting her.’’
The resolution clearing Cullen also cited a court decision saying ‘‘the disparity in the finding of medico-legal officers is not uncommon.’’
Looking back, Cullen said: ‘‘We found it very hard to fight false charges with manufactured evidence.
These charges frighten other charities helping children. Who will want to defend their rights? Charities and agencies will fear this backlash from pedophiles and sex tour operators. Social workers will increasingly refuse to work under these threats and false allegations. We all have to take a stand and can’t run away. We can’t fail the children who are the victims and the most vulnerable of all.’’
Women’s shelter needs help. The nuns of my affections who run a 30-year-old shelter for women in crisis (in Paco) are constructing a new wing so that more women can be accommodated. They need extra funds (just P100,000 or so) for the project which is almost complete. If you want to separate yourself from some of your hard-earned income, page me at 141-262077. Jueteng money not accepted.